I was deploying a Skype for Business Server 2015 environment for a client today and came across an odd issue. During installation of the databases on the back end SQL server I experienced and error which halted the installation:

Although the user I was running the installation as was a sysadmin and local administrator on this SQL server as required, the installation threw this error. Interestingly enough, re-running the database installation task would actually proceed to the next database in the sequence without erroring out on the previous one but erroring on each successive:

I was actually able to re-run the installation a few times and eventually get to a success state. Knowing the Skype for Business installation process, it occurred to me that although it was successful, the script may have just been checking for the existence of the database and not actually re-attempting to change the DB owner to SA each time I re-ran it.

So I confirmed the DB owner of each database and sure enough, it wasn’t the SA:

Just to be sure, I checked the DBO from my lab deployment to confirm:

So with total transparency, I am NOT a SQL expert. So it wasn’t apparent to me why setting the DBO would fail when the installation account had all the rights it needed. So after doing some research on the issue, I came across this TechNet blog post by Jithendranath Reddy which pointed me in the right direction:

As it turns out, my client renamed the SA account which is why the installer, which references the account by the default “sa” name, was unable to change the DBO. As the blog post implied, disabling the account is satisfactory but the account must be named “sa” for the installer to work. Unfortunately, there is no documented/supported way to manually specify the SA account name for this procedure. So the workaround of renaming the account back to “sa” will suffice in this scenario. Hopefully this post will save someone else a few minutes of head scratching.

Share this post

Marc Wynter

About author

Marc Wynter - Lead Unified Communications Specialist
Marc started his career with Conquest Technology Services in 2005 and has become the Technical Lead in Conquest’s Microsoft Unified Communications practice. Marc’s primary responsibilities include scoping, designing, and delivery of Microsoft Unified Communications based solutions.
Marc was selected by Microsoft in June 2013 from within the partner subject matter expert community, to participate in Microsoft’s Virtual Technology Specialist Program (vTSP) specializing in Exchange Messaging and Office 365 Solutions. Members of the program are provided with Microsoft credentials granted access to internal Microsoft resources to ensure they can provide customers with the latest information on Microsoft Platforms, product vision and future product roadmap strategy. Those subject matter experts, hand selected to participate in the program, work closely with Microsoft sales teams to provide pre-sales activities and architectural guidance for Enterprise Integration solutions as an extension of Microsoft’s internal Solution Specialists & Technical Teams. Since the program’s inception, Microsoft has selected just over 200 experts from its top partners across the US to supplement their internal resources. Marc is honored to be including in this program.
Marc has a Bachelor’s in Management Information Systems & Master’s Degrees in Management Information Systems. In addition to his education, Marc holds the following Certification titles; Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP), Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator (MCSA), Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) and Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP) in Exchange, Office Communications Server, and Lync Server.

Previous Posts

Previous Posts

Our History

The most important relationships we build are those we have with our customers. They depend upon us to keep their business running. We appreciate their confidence and work tirelessly every day to continue to earn it. That's what ConQuest Technology Services is all about. Founded in 2003, ConQuest delivers top quality information technology (IT) services to the greater South Florida area and throughout the Eastern United States.